UNIFIED LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEETS
Science 8, Quarter 4, Week 4
Biodiversity: Species and Classification
Name of Learner:______________________ Section: ____________
Most Essential Learning Competencies:
Explain the concept of a species. S8LT-IVg-19
Classify organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system. S8LT-IVg-19
Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the biological concept of species;
2. Classifying organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system;
3. Cite some importance of having a high biodiversity in an ecosystem.
Time Allotment: 4 hours
Key Concepts:
• Biodiversity is a concept that refers to the vast diversity of life on the
planet. Plants, bacteria, livestock, and humans are all examples of living
things. According to scientists, there are approximately 8.7 million plant and
animal species on the planet.
• Species are collection of related organisms that interbreed in nature and
produce fertile offspring; examples of these are the rats, pigs, dogs and
cats. While organisms tend to have similar appearances or behavior like the
famous civet cat (known locally as Alamid or Musang) and our domesticated
cats, they are of different species. There are also creatures that look
different appear but are actually the same species like the sea cow (known
as Dugong locally) and humans. A species includes the rabbit, waling-waling
(an orchid), milkfish (local name: bangus), rice plant, and humans like you.
• There are three levels of biodiversity: species diversity, genetic
diversity, and ecosystem diversity. Species diversity refers to the
various types of organisms that exist (species diversity), genetic diversity
refers to the genetic material that organisms possess (genetic diversity),
and an ecosystem diversity refers to the different types of locations where
organisms thrive and interacts with other organisms in the ecosystem
(ecosystem diversity).
• Taxonomy is the science of naming, identifying, and classifying organisms,
and it encompasses all plants, animals, and microbes on the planet.
• There are eight taxonomic classification of organisms namely: domain,
kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. To easily
Guhiting and Anann F. Cacayan
remember these eight classifications, we make use of a mnemonic device
where these are phrases that make it easier to remember specific
information. In this case, we take the first letter of each word of eight
classifications; k, p, c, o, f, g and s, are the names of the lines. You make
use of this phrase, “King Philip Came Over For Green Soup”.
• A Scientific Name is a name given to each organism discovered. Every
scientist and other person from all over the world will refer to the same
organism by the same name. Two names make up scientific names. The
first is genus name and second is species name. It is always written in italics
(if typed) or underlined (handwritten). The first letter of genus name is
always capitalized. It's also worth noting that scientific names are written in
Latin. The binomial system of classification refers to the method of naming
species.
Figure 1. The 7 Classification of Living Things
Source: www.google.com/images
• The Archaebacteria, Eubacteria, Protist, Fungi, Plant, and Animal
Kingdom are used to classify organisms.
• Kingdom Plantae are what we call as plants. Plants are non-motile,
multicellular, organisms that are autotrophic. This means that they make
their own food through photosynthesis. The four main phyla or subcategories
in the kingdom Plantae are: Angiospermorphyta (flowers, fruit trees,
vegetables), Bryophyta (mosses, hornworts, liverworts), Coniferophyta or
Pinophyta (pine trees, fir trees, redwood) and Filicinophyta (ferns).
• Kingdom Fungi are organisms that are considered as decomposers. This
means that they feed off of dead organisms and cells. Fungi also cannot
move on its own and is multicellular. There are five phyla in the kingdom
Fungi, which include: Ascomycota (truffles, morels, yeasts),
Basidiomycota (mushrooms, puffballs, jelly fungi), Chytridiomycota
(water molds, chytrids), Glomeromycota (tree fungi; for example,
arbuscular mycorrhizas) and Zygomycota (bread molds, mucorales).
• The Kingdom Protista consists of any eukaryotic organism that isn’t an
animal, plant or fungus. They only reproduce asexually or via meiosis. These
organisms are also autotrophs, which don’t need to feed on other forms of
life for survival. The kingdom Protista has 3 phyla, which can be divided into
Authors: Faith C.
Schoool/Station: Surigao del Norte National High School 2
Division: Surigao del Norte
Email address: faith.guhiting@deped.gov.ph/anann.cacayan@deped.gov.ph
the following types: Protozoa - the animal-like protists (amoebae, euglena),
Protophyta - the plant-like protists (algae, lichens) and Molds - (slime
molds, water molds).
• Kingdom of Archaea under the Archaea Domain, both species in the
Archaebacteria family are microscopic. They live in a variety of settings,
some of which are extremely harsh. Archaebacteria include methanogens,
halophiles, and thermophiles.
• Kingdom of Eubacteria are members of unicellular and microscopic
bacteria. They are known as true bacteria and are commonly referred to as
the "bacteria" community.
The size and form of organisms in the Animal Kingdom varies. Smaller
organisms have limited number of cells while larger animals have trillions of
it. Some species have the ability to live inside other animals’ body. There are
those that can be found in fresh or saltwater, and some also can be found in
any land habitat. They can reproduce either sexually or asexually.
• Kingdom Animalia is the biggest kingdom in the living world with at least
four million species named and identified. Animals range in size from no
more than a few cells to organisms weighing many tons, such as the blue
whales and giant squids. Most animals inhabit the seas, with fewer on
freshwater and even fewer on land. Below is a list of the common animal
phyla, their major characteristics, and some examples.
Phylum Major Characteristics Representative
members
Porifera Permanently attached,not free to sponge
move about (sessile), body loosely
organized
Cnidaria having similar parts regularly Jellyfish, sea
arranged around a central axis with anemones corals,
incomplete guts, some are sessile hydra
Platyhelminthes Flatworms,bilaterally symmetrical Planaria (free-living
means body can be divided along a flatworms) parasitic
plane that divides the animal into left flukes, tapeworms
and right sides without an enclosed
body cavity
Nematoda Roundworms, body cavity lined Trichinella
enclosed with a muscle layer on the (parasitic
outer side but not the internal organs roundworm),
Caenorabditis
elegans(soilinhabitin
g nematode)
Mollusca Soft-bodied unsegmented (not Snails, clams,
divided into or made up of segments) squids, octopuses
animals
Annelida Segmented(divided) worms Earthworms, leeches
Arthropoda Joint-legged (means a leg with one or Crabs,
more points somewhere along its lobsters,
length where the leg is designed to spiders, centipedes,
flex—such as at the knee) animals insects
with exoskeletons(an external
supportive covering of an animal)
Echinodermata Biradically symmetrical animals. Starfishes, brittle
Echinodermata are named after their stars, sea urchins,
spiny skin (from the Greek “echinos” sea cucumbers
meaning “spiny” and “dermos”
meaning
Guhiting and Anann F. Cacayan
“skin”). Echinodermata are exclusively
marine organisms.
Chordata It includes humans and other Mammals,fish,
vertebrates (animals with a reptiles, birds,
backbone) however, there are amphibians
also those without a backbone
(invertebrates).All chordates have the
following features at some point in
their life (in the case of humans and
many other vertebrates, these
features may only be present in the
embryo):pharyngeal slits - a series
of openings that connect the inside of
the throat to the outside of the "neck".
These are often, but not always, used
as gills.Dorsal nerve cord - a bundle
of nerve fibers which runs down the
"back". It connects the brain with the
lateral muscles and other organs.
Notochord - cartilaginous rod running
underneath, and supporting, the nerve
cord.
Authors: Faith C.
Schoool/Station: Surigao del Norte National High School 4
Division: Surigao del Norte
Email address: faith.guhiting@deped.gov.ph/anann.cacayan@deped.gov.ph
Figure 2. The Animal Kingdom
https://kullabs.com/class-9/science-9/classification-of-living-things/animal-kingdom-i
Figure 3. The Six Kingdom Classification
Source: http://bioisu.freeservers.com
Activity 1. What Am I?
Objective: Discuss the biological concept of species
What you need: Paper, ballpen, books or internet if available
What to do: Study and analyze the pictures below. Answer if the following set
of species can interbreed or not and if their offspring are fertile (capable of
producing an offspring) or sterile (not capable of reproduction).
Can they If Yes, Is their
interbreed name of offspring
Species or not?(Yes their fertile or
or No) offspring? sterile?
Schoool/Station: Surigao del Norte National High School 6
Division: Surigao del Norte
Email address: faith.guhiting@deped.gov.ph/anann.cacayan@deped.gov.ph
1. Labrador + Poodle
www.google.com/images
Authors: Faith C. Guhiting and Anann F. Cacayan
2. Donkey + Horse
www.google.com/images
3. Lion (male) + Tiger (female)
//www.britannica.com/animal/
liger
4. Dogs + Wolves
www.google.com/images
5. African fish eagle + Bald
eagle
https://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/natural
selection/speciation/a/species-speciation
Guide Questions:
1. In the examples above, which animals produce sterile offspring?
______________________________________________________________
2. When can you say that organisms belong to the same species?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
3. If two species look very similar externally, but can be dissimilar enough in their
genetic makeup, thus they are of ___________species. They ________produce fertile
offspring.
Activity 2: Classifying Organisms
Objective: Classifying organisms using the hierarchical taxonomic system.
What you need: Paper and ballpen.
What to do: Study the table below and arrange the jumbled answers according to
their category. Write your answers to the table provided below.
Categor Domesticate Dog Bangus Domestic Philippine
y d Cat guinea pig Eagle
Kingdom Carnivora familiaris chanos Chordata Aves
Phylum Chordata Mammalia Animalia Animalia Accipitriformes
Class Animalia Chordata Chanos Cavia Chordata
Order Mammalia Canidae Chordata Caviidae Accipitridae
Family catus Carnivora Actinopterygii C. porcellus Animalia
Genus Felidae Canis Gonorynchiformis Rodentia P.. jefferyl
Species Felis Animalia Canidae Mammalia Pithecophaga
Categor Domesticated Dog Bangus Domestic Philippine
y Cat guinea pig Eagle
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
REFLECTION:
Species diversity comprises a large number of different kinds, shapes, colors
and sizes of organisms that inhabit the Earth. We use taxonomy in describing,
naming and classifying these organisms. Such work is essential for the
fundamental understanding of biodiversity and its conservation.
Cite at least three (3) importance of biodiversity in an ecosystem. Write your
answers on the space provided below. (Refer to the rubric below)
___________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
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RUBRIC for Scoring
Task 5 points 3 points 1 point
Substantial, specific,
Conten and illustrative Sufficiently developed Superficial and/or
t content content with adequate minimal content
demonstrating elaboration or
scientific ideas. explanation.
Apparent point made
Focus about a single topic No apparent point Minimal evidence of
with sufficient but evidence of a a topic.
awareness of task. specific topic.
